The correct functioning of communication facilities which are designed with redundancy, for example an IP-based message distribution system, also depends on correct wiring, for example the wiring between switches and communication nodes. Undetected errors in a message distribution system which is designed with redundancy to give high availability can, with a hardware failure, lead to the loss of stable calls, operational restrictions and cases of unreachability in a communication system. Miswiring and/or faulty configuration of the components in the case of new construction work or extensions to the communication system can lead to a loss of the setting data. Now it can happen that the services offered function smoothly before a system component failure occurs, in spite of incorrect wiring or a physical fault in a cable, because of the system redundancy. The effect of the incorrect wiring or the physical fault in the cable would then only have any effect when the first communication path between two points fails, in that it is then impossible to switch to a redundant path. That is to say, the result of such a wiring fault is that, for at least one link, there is in reality no path redundancy although the redundancy system concept intended there to be one. The missing redundancy has until now not been automatically recognized. Thus the result of wiring faults can be that a system fails to achieve in practical operation its specified security against failure, which it would in the ideal situation actually achieve. They thus represent a substantial risk to the reliability of communication facilities.